Ginger Yanikowski and the Dragonfly Amulet
by harrietpalmer13
Summary: Ginger Yanikowski is a normal girl- or is she? Parentless, determined, an odd craving for baseball, and a weird similarity to a boy named Tom Riddle, Ginger's life is as normal as it can get for a magical girl. Will any of her horrific past be revealed along the way of her adventure? And will her Amulet protect her from harm - or just make her more prone to danger?bad summary sorry
1. Memories and Riddles

CRACK.

A gunshot rang through the air. No, wait. It wasn't a gunshot. It was the sound of a baseball bat, connecting with the ball. There it goes. Going… going… _gone_.

"She does it again!" cried the announcer. "Ginger Yanikowski, the only girl on the Tidal Waves, smacks that ball outta here!"

The crowd roared as a tall, pale, skinny, black-haired girl jogged around the bases following the three other boys ahead of her. She had barely stepped across home plate when the rest of her team enveloped her.

"Ginger, way to go!"

"This is our 9th win in a row because of you, Ginger!"

"Wicked!"

"Brilliant!"

Soon the whole team was chanting their name.

"TIDAL WAVES! TIDAL WAVES!"

Ginger sighed. This was the only good thing in her otherwise horrible life. Ginger Yanikowski was an orphan. Her parents were believed to have been killed in a plane wreck. She was one of the only survivors.

Soon, grumbling and shooting Ginger dirty looks, the other team, the Thunderbolts, trudged from the field. The crowd filed out soon after that. The rest of Ginger's team had left to walk home or had been driven home by their parents.

"Night, Ginger," coach said slapping her back. "Nice job out there," Ginger grinned weakly and with that Coach left her.

Ginger sighed again. Yep, baseball was awesome all right. It was the only thing that kept Ginger from packing her bags and running away. Ginger threw her gear into her bag. Her batting helmet, her bat, her cleats, her pitching hat. She zipped the bag shut and plopped down onto it. She sat watching the sun set until the sky was a vivid hue. Then she stood up, swung her bag over her shoulder and began walking from the field. She locked the gate from the inside. She threw her bag over the top of it and began to climb. She was about halfway up when she suddenly landed softly on the other side next to her bag. She blinked. She looked around. Yes, she was on the other side of the fence alright. But how had she gotten over there? She didn't remember jumping from the top like she usually did. _I'll think about it later. _She thought. So she shrugged, picked up her bag, and walked forward. Back to the orphanage. Back to the teasing about the oddly shaped cut on her shin. Back to torture.

"Where in the blazes have you been?" shouted Mrs. Setchell.

"Baseball," Ginger answered casually.

"Well take a shower!" Mrs. Setchell looked disgusted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," Ginger trudged up the stairs. 4 flights of stairs to be exact. She went down to the end of the hallway. Toward the room that had a sign nailed into the door that said _Yanikowski _on it. She grabbed the doorknob and turned it. But it wouldn't move. Ginger groaned and banged her forehead against the door. How could she have been so stupid as to forget her key? She stared hard at the lock willing it to open. There was a small, but audible, click. Ginger looked at the lock. Then, cautiously, she grabbed the doorknob and turned it again. This time it moved. She pushed against the door with her shoulder. It swung open. Her door had always been difficult to open, but this time it was easier. She blew through her lips so that they drummed against each other. So many weird things happening today! She stepped into her room and clicked the door shut behind her. She scuffled over to her window and sat down on the sill. She threw her bag, and it landed on her bed. Then she turned to look out her window. She opened it a tad to let some cool air in. She sighed and let her head fall back against the wall behind her. A gust of wind blew steadily through her window barely lifting her hair from her shoulders. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. This was one calm, peaceful moment she rarely had. Then she remembered she had to take a shower. Muttering to herself she stood up and left.

After a very quick shower, amid a girl named Cassie banging the door and yelling at her to hurry up, Ginger quickly locked herself in her room again. Alone. Until she realized that she wasn't alone. An owl was perched on her window sill. When it saw Ginger it gave out a muffled hoot. Muffled because it had a small white piece of paper in its mouth.

Ginger stared open-mouthed at it. Now she wished that she didn't leave the window open. She took a step forward, but that seemed to trigger the owl's attention. It stretched its wings and flew straight at Ginger's head. Ginger screamed and ducked. She felt a rush of air as the owl swooped over her. She straightened up and ran at the owl.

"Get out! GET OUT!" she screeched waving her arms trying to scare it. It seemed to have worked. The owl gave an irritated sort of hoot and flew out of the room. Ginger quickly slammed the window behind it. Breathing hard she turned around and slid down the wall to a sitting position. Okay, this was getting a little out of hand. First the fence, then the door, and now this? What next? Time travel? Something fluttered to the ground and landed at her feet. It was the white piece of paper the owl had been holding. Ginger kicked at it angrily; it burst into flames.

"HOLY CRAP!" Ginger screamed her mouth wide open in horror. When the flames finally died away Ginger stared. She had expected there to be a scorch mark at the very least but nothing was there. There wasn't any smoke or any sign that there had been a fire at all. Something gleamed there instead. Ginger leaned forward to get a good look. It was an amulet. It looked like a dragonfly and seemed colorless. Ginger held out a finger and, with some hesitation, prodded it gently. As soon as she did her room gave a sudden lurch and Ginger was thrown headfirst at the amulet. She somehow seemed to be going straight through it into something. Then suddenly she was falling through inky blackness. She tried to scream but no sound came. _I'm gonna die! _She thought. She hit the ground but felt no pain. Slowly, trembling from head to toe, she stood up. She was in the middle of a field. She could hear a loud groaning in the distance. she looked up and gasped. And airplane was careening straight towards the ground. Towards her. Ginger backed away, but the airplane went over her head. Ginger spun around. There was an earsplitting crash as the plane made contact with the ground. Not thinking, Ginger sprinted over to it. Someone came crawling from the wreck. Someone with long black hair that was down and had a small braid on the side. Someone wearing shorts and a t-shirt that looked awfully familiar. Then Ginger realized; she was looking at her seven year-old self. Present Ginger gaped at her past self. Then someone else came dragging themselves from the plane. It was a boy. He had black hair too and it was very messy. He had glasses which he was clutching to his face. Present Ginger guessed that they were broken.

"A-amy!" the boy sobbed and he latched himself to Past Ginger.

"It's all right, Harry," she said rubbing his back. "We're okay. Everything's gonna okay."

"Oh, will it?" came a cold voice. The sobbing Harry and Past Ginger looked up. A man in long, black robes had appeared and was coming toward them.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" he shouted. There was a flash of green light and screams. When the green light disappeared the man was gone. Harry was clutching his forehead. Past Ginger was holding him close and grabbing her shin. Both looked like they were in immense pain. Two people suddenly appeared out of thin air with a crack.

"_Obliviate!_" they both shouted pointing something at Past Ginger and Harry. Then everything went black. Present Ginger gasped as she felt her feet leave the ground. Suddenly she was back in her room. She gasped again. Her shin felt as if it were on fire. Her shin. Past Ginger had been holding her shin after the green light had disappeared. Very slowly, Present Ginger rolled up her pant leg. There it was; the oddly shaped cut. It was a bright, pumping red. Ginger had always thought that it looked like the scratchy outline of a raindrop. Ginger felt something bump against her chest as she leaned forward. Her eyes dropped down to see the amulet hanging from a thin silver chain strung over her neck. The amulet looked the same; except that it wasn't colorless anymore. It was a bright red and when Ginger touched it, it was quite hot. The boy, Harry, had called Past Ginger, Amy. What was that all about? Maybe it was just her nickname when she was younger. And why couldn't she remember any of that happening? She remembered the two people yell something at Past Ginger and Harry. It had sounded something like oblivious. Maybe it was something that made you lose your memory?

There was a knock on Ginger's door. She quickly pushed down her pant leg and dropped the necklace in between her shirt and her ribs. She wasn't totally ready for people to know about it yet. She pushed herself to her feet.

"Come in," she said. The door creaked open as Mrs. Setchell grunted with effort to get it wide enough for her to slip in.

"You have a letter," she panted holding out a white envelope and waving it in front of her.

"Okay, just- wait, what?"

"A letter. For you."

Ginger blinked.

"You sure?"

"Pretty sure,"

"But, how?"

Mrs. Setchell was getting irritated.

"Look, just take your bloody letter already or I won't let you open it!"

"Alright, sorry!" Ginger leaped forward and snatched the letter from Mrs. Setchell.

"Now, I'm leaving to talk to a man. I'll be downstairs in my office if you get deathly injured or something that involves attention! Other than that _do not bother me!_" she said furiously. She edged from the room again and pulled the door shut behind her.

Hands shaking with excitement, Ginger examined her letter trying not to drop it. On the front in loopy, green handwriting, was her name. Ginger Yanikowski. In parentheses it said Amy Potter. Ginger decided to think about that later. There was no stamp; no return address either. Ginger flipped the letter over to look at the back of it. There were four animals; a badger, a raven, a snake, and a griffin all encircling a letter H. Ginger carefully broke the seal on the envelope and slowly took out the paper inside of it. She unfolded it and read the letter eagerly. It read:

_Dear Ms. Yanikowski (Potter),_

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress

Ginger gaped at it. Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry? What was Hogwarts? Wasn't witchcraft and wizardry, like, magic or something? Ginger shook her head and looked at the other paper.__

HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM  
First-year students will require:  
sets of plain work robes (black)  
plain pointed hat (black) for day wear  
pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)  
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS  
All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)  
by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi  
by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them  
by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection  
by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand  
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
1 set glass or crystal phials  
1 telescope  
1 set brass scales

Students may also bring and owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS 

Wands?! Broomsticks?! Magical herbs and fungi?! What was Mrs. Setchell playing at? Ginger stuffed everything back into the envelope and threw it from herself. She slowly backed away. She felt very dizzy all of a sudden. Her legs hit the side of her bed and she sank down onto it. She couldn't be magic, she just couldn't be! She wasn't special. The only thing she was good at was baseball! That wasn't very magic at all!

There was another knock on her door. It opened much easier than it should've. It wasn't Mrs. Setchell this time. Instead it was a bearded man. Ginger raised her eyebrows as the man entered her room.

"Who are you?" she asked cautiously. At first the man didn't answer. Instead he came and sat down on Ginger's bed. Ginger stood up.

"I remember coming in here 30 years ago. It was in this exact room too."

Ginger didn't have the faintest idea what he was talking about.

"Who are you?" she asked again. The man stood up. Ginger took a step backwards.

"Forgive me. I am Professor Dumbledore. I am a professor at Hogwarts."

"Is Hogwarts a madhouse? For mental people? I'm not mental! I swear I'm not! No matter what that git Setchell tells you, I assure you that I'm not crazy!"

Dumbledore held his hand up to quiet Ginger. She snapped her mouth shut her fists clenched.

"You do remind me of what young Riddle said,"

"Riddle?" Ginger said. "Is that a person? Or is Riddle just a joke? Was that letter just a _riddle? _Were you trying to get me to believe that there is magic? You were weren't you! Yeah, you were! You're friends with Setchell! You are! You-!"

"Please," Dumbledore said. To Ginger's dismay, he didn't seem to be getting annoyed with her. She glared at him.

"Let me speak please,"

Ginger glared at him angrily.

"There is a thing such as magic. But you have not been told this as you have grown with Muggles,"

"What?"

"People, who do not possess magic."

"I'm a Muggle then."

"Actually, you are not. That is why I came here. To tell you that you are a witch."

"That's offensive,"

"Not that kind of witch. A girl who has magical powers. You had magic parents."

"And I'm supposed to believe you? How can I? I don't remember anything about my family. In fact," Ginger added as something dawned upon her. "I can't even remember anything about anything past age seven."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

"Exactly," he said. "You had magic done on you so that you _wouldn't _remember anything about your parents."

Ginger stared.

"But, I can't be magic. I just can't be."

Dumbledore smiled.

"Has anything ever happened to you Ginger? Anything that you couldn't explain?"

Ginger opened her mouth but shut it again. She couldn't deny it. Strange things _had _been happening to her. The fence, the lock, the door, the owl, the memory, the amulet. Dumbledore smiled again. This was getting creepy. Ginger frowned.

"Prove it," she snapped. "Prove to me that there _is _such a thing as magic, and I'll go to that 'school'." She put air quotes around school. Again Dumbledore smiled. _Stop smiling! _Ginger thought angrily. Dumbledore snapped his fingers. There was a creaking sound. Then Ginger's bed was lifted off of the ground. Dumbledore chuckled as he looked at Ginger's face of astonishment. Dumbledore snapped his fingers again and the bed crashed back down; yet it made no noise. Ginger blinked.

"O-okay," she stammered in disbelief. "I believe you,"


	2. Gringotts and Ollivander and Pets

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of J.K's characters (sadly) just the added people.**

Ginger thundered down the stairs, eager to go to London. It would be her first time leaving the orphanage for a long amount of time. She pulled out her pocket calendar and looked at the date. August 3. She jumped the last few steps and almost bowled over Aaron, the boy whose room was right next to her's.

"Sorry!" she called over her shoulder. Aaron scowled at her rubbing his arm. Ginger bounded to the lobby but stopped abruptly when she heard low voices arguing.

"Confront her about it! It's a dangerous item and we don't even who sent it to her!"

"No. I'm not going to bring it up! It might alarm her."

"Well, we don't know it might kill her!"

"Oh, so if I don't confront her about it she's going to die now is she?"

"That's not what I said…"

Ginger's nose was tickling her.

"No! Listen to me! He wants it! If he finds out that she's got it she's already as good as dead!"

"Don't you understand? _He is gone! He isn't a threat anymore!_"

"NO! HE'S GONE FOR NOW BUT HE _WILL _RETURN! IF HE-!"

Ginger sneezed, loudly.

The voices immediately stopped.

Ginger sighed and stepped out into the lobby. Two people were standing there both wearing long cloaks. They stared at her. Ginger's shin throbbed painfully. She felt dizzy. She quickly stumbled away from them. She hit a wall and shut her eyes. Suddenly images flashed before her mind. A small girl, about 3 years old, was laughing and tickling a tiny baby. The baby was laughing trying to grab the girl's hair.

Ginger opened her eyes panting. She was on the ground of the hallway. Dumbledore was standing over her with a look of concern on his face.

"Are you all right Ginger?"

Ginger nodded and stood up slowly.

"J-just fell," she stammered.

"Well, come on. We need to get to London." He strode out the front doors.

Ginger hurried to catch up.

"But Professor Dumbledore, how are we going to get to London?" she asked.

"We Apparate."

"Apparate?"

Dumbledore held out an arm to Ginger. He motioned for her to grab it. She did. Then she felt as if she was being pushed and pulled in every direction. Then it stopped. Ginger was breathing hard. She was trying hard not to throw up.

"Apparation," she gasped. "I hope never to do again."

Dumbledore chuckled.

She realized that they were right in front of a shop with a sign dangling above it reading _The Leaky Cauldron. _Ginger looked around. Nobody seemed to notice the shop. She and Dumbledore entered the shop.

"Albus!" the bartender said happily. "What brings you here?"

Dumbledore patted Ginger's shoulder.

"Bringing her to Diagon Alley."

"Hello," the bartender smiled. He looked appraisingly at Ginger. His eyes wandered down to her right shin. The bartender's smile vanished.

"You- you're- aren't you?" he stuttered.

Ginger looked down. She had changed into shorts just before she and Dumbledore left and her scar was exposed.

"Amy Potter," the bartender said in awe.

Ginger raised her eyebrows and looked at Dumbledore. Dumbledore nodded and whispered into the bartender's ear. The bartender nodded.

"Good day to you Miss Amy," he said grinning.

Dumbledore took ginger by her shoulder and led her to the back of the store. As Ginger passed by the other people in the shop they too looked at Ginger in awe. Soon Dumbledore and Ginger were outback in a small little area with a stone wall in front of them. He took out a stick and tapped a certain brick three times. Instantly the stones began to shift and rearrange. Then it was just an archway.

"Whoa," Ginger breathed. Beyond the archway was an alley with little shops and apartments all along the sides of the street.

"Do you still have you letter?" Dumbledore asked.

"Um, oh, yes I do,"

"Good. Your shopping list is in there."

"Oh, yes I think I remember noticing that."

Dumbledore began to walk forward. Ginger caught up with him and carefully asked him.

"Um, sir, I was wondering if, you know, if I could, uh, go shopping for my school stuff, er, by myself?"

Dumbledore stopped so abruptly that Ginger almost ran into him. He turned to her. His eyes were full of emotion. But they weren't anger or sadness, it was more as if Ginger reminded him of someone…

"Yes, Ginger, of course you may,"

Ginger had not expected him to answer this way.

"Okay. Well, er, goodbye then."

"Goodbye,"

Ginger bit her lip as Dumbledore Disapparated. She felt a pang of guilt in her stomach but it was immediately replaced by joy. Finally! She was doing something on her own for once! Nobody trailing after just to "keep an eye on her". Ginger felt very happy-go-lucky at the moment. She practically skipped down the alleyway as she went forward. She dug her letter from her pocket and unfolded it. She read over the list but then her heart sank and her joy was extinguished. She didn't have any money to buy any of this stuff. She suddenly felt a tugging at the back of her neck. She looked down and saw the necklace pulling forward. Confused, Ginger grabbed it and tried to pull it back but it burned her hand and pulled nevertheless. Ginger sighed and decided to follow wherever it was pointing her. She was walking for quite away when the tugging ceased. Ginger looked up to see she was standing right in front of a huge building. It said _GRINGOTTS _in large letters at the top of the building. Without knowing what she was doing, Ginger stepped into the building. Soon she found herself standing before a tall desk. She felt a sudden weight in her pocket. She stuck her hand into it and withdrew a small golden key. When she looked back up at the desk a very strange creature was peering over the top of it at her.

"May I help you?" it asked. Ginger opened her mouth and the words came flooding from it and she didn't even know where they came from.

"I'd like to enter my vault," she had no idea where that came from.

"Identification?" the creature asked.

"Ginger Yanikowski,"

The creature, who Ginger figured to be a goblin, looked down at something and then back at her.

"We do not have a vault for Ginger Yanikowski."

Ginger bit her lip again. Now what? Then she remembered.

"Um, how about, Amy Potter?" she tried.

The goblin looked down again and then looked back up.

"May I see your wand Ms. Potter?"

"Um, sorry. I don't have a wand yet."

"Does Ms. Amy Potter have her key?"

Ginger held out the small golden key that was in her pocket. The goblin took it and examined it carefully.

"Looks legit.

"Penstill!" the goblin called out suddenly. Another goblin stepped into view. The goblin handed Penstill the key. "Show Ms. Potter her vault."

Penstill nodded.

"Follow me," he said beckoning Ginger over. She did. Soon they were in a cart that was moving quite fast. They seemed to be underground in a dark tunnel. They passed by various doors. Some were very large and decked out and other were quite small and simple. The cart stopped and Penstill stepped out. Ginger followed him.

"Vault 436," he said approaching a large but simple door. He took out Ginger's key and put it into the door. It swung open.

Ginger gasped at the contents inside. Huge mounds of gold, silver, and bronze coins were piled inside. Ginger dug out a vouch she never knew she had from her pocket. She began scooping handfuls of the coins into her pouch. She tightened the bag shut. Penstill nodded at her and slammed her vault shut. Then they got back into the cart and were racing back towards the surface. Once there Penstill handed Ginger's key back towards her.

"Thank you," Ginger said and left the store.

"All right," she murmured. "I have my money, now where to next?"

After a while she had bought her robes, books, brass scales, telescope, phials, cauldron, and a few potion ingredients. Now all she needed was a wand and a pet. Again, like it had always done with the other shops, her necklace began pulling her towards a shop that said _Ollivanders. _Her necklace stopped pulling when she was on the doorstep. Ginger pushed the door open. She poked her head inside. There were tall shelves that were lined with skinny black boxes. They reminded Ginger somewhat of her. She stepped into the shop and the door clicked shut behind her. She was standing in front of a desk with a dented, rusty bell sitting on top of it and, as far as she could see, she was alone.

"Hello?" she called out. There was a loud clang from behind her. She spun around. Two boys, both with flaming red hair, had been looking at a cauldron in the cauldron shop and accidently knocked it off of the shelf. Their mother was scolding them and they were both hanging their heads but Ginger swore that she saw them snigger. There was a slight cough from behind her and she whirled around again. A man stood behind a desk with misty grey eyes.

"Hello," he said. He stepped out from behind the desk. _Either he's really short. _Ginger thought realizing that she was just barely shorter than him. _Or I'm really tall. _She remembered that she had always towered over the kids on her baseball team and at the orphanage too.

"I'm Mr. Ollivander," the man said standing in front of Ginger. "I make and sell these wands. Now, which is your wand arm?"

"Um, well I'm left-handed," Ginger said cautiously.

"Left-handed are you? That's a change…" he began measuring her arm. "Is this your first time at Hogwarts?"

"Um, yes it is."

"Ah, yes. What's your name girl?"

"Ginger Yanikowski,"

"Really? I've never heard of your parents. Who are they?"

"Um, I'm not really sure but somebody told me that their names are Mike Yanikowski and Ella Yanikowski. I think my dad's in a hospital and Mom's dead."

Mr. Ollivander seemed shocked by these news.

"Dead? I've still never heard of your parents are you sure-?" he stopped abruptly his eyes wide. Ginger wondered what he was staring at when she realized. He was looking at her shin.

"We all thought you to be dead, Amy. We thought He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named managed to kill you but not your brother."

"My brother? I'm sorry, you must be thinking of the wrong person I don't have a-"

"Harry Potter,"

Ginger stopped at this. Harry. Why did she have such a weird feeling about that name, Harry? Then she remembered. The memory inside of the amulet. Harry. The boy that was clinging on to her after the plane wreck. Harry.

"I have a brother." She whispered her voice cracking. "Whose name is Harry Potter. That means I really am, Amy Potter."

She looked up to see Mr. Ollivander staring at her and a pile of boxes in front of him.

"Wands," he said when he saw her looking. "Just give them a wave," he said.

Ginger did. Again. And again. And again. She did it so many times that she thought her arm would fall off. When finally…

"Ash, Dragon Core, 9 ½ inches, swishy,"

For what felt like the millionth time Ginger picked up a wand and swished it through the air. Suddenly she was surrounded by a warm breeze and green sparks that somewhat matched her eyes. Mr. Ollivander's face split into a grin.

"Wonderful, wonderful. That will be seven Galleons please."

Ginger fished out seven gold coins and placed them on Mr. Ollivander's desk. He handed her a box and she placed the wand in it.

"Thank you," she said.

"Thank _you_," Mr. Ollivander chuckled.

Ginger left the shop.

"Okay, pets," she said more to her necklace than to herself. As if on cue, it began tugging. Again she followed it. Then she stopped in front of store. _Eeylops Owl Emporium and Magical Menagerie._ She entered the shop. Instantly various squawking, meowing, hooting, entered her ears. She looked around at all of the animals. There were mostly cats, owls, and toads. Ginger wandered into the shop. _Cats. I like cats. Let's start there. _She thought. She examined the cats until she got to one kitten who was in a cage that was a bit large for it. It was on its back pawing at the air. Ginger laughed and knelt down next to the cage. The kitten paused, then flipped over purring loudly. Its tongue was poking out and it mewed happily at Ginger.

"Meagan," Ginger murmured. She picked up the cage and went to the front desk. She paid for it, thanked the lady there and left the shop.

"You saw it. It was around her neck. I'm telling you that thing will kill her if we don't take it."

The second cloaked figure glowered at the first.

"You wouldn't know. And don't you think she'll notice eventually that we keep popping up everywhere she is?"

"She won't recognize us. And besides, she's been cramped up in an orphanage for _years _now."

"She isn't ordinary!"

"Well of course she isn't! She's no Muggle is she?"

"That's not what I meant! There's something about her. If she meets the Others then we're are in _deep _kimchi."

"Kimchi?"

"I'm from Korea okay?"

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"Anyway, that necklace will corrupt her if she doesn't take it off soon."

"But why are _we _helping her? When we're for _him_?"

"I don't trust him."


	3. Trains and Friends and Hats

"Sorry,"

"For what?"

"For going off on my own. I'm just kinda independent."

"Well nothing went wrong did it?"

"Well, no but-,"

"And you got all of your school things?"

"Yes, but-,"

"Then I don't see a problem."

Ginger sighed. She knew that she would never win this argument. She and Dumbledore were in King's Cross Station going to Platform 9 ¾. Ginger at first had thought that there had been a typo but when Dumbledore explained to her about running through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 she struggled to accept the concept. She and Dumbledore were attracting strange looks because of Dumbledore's clothes. He was wearing a long cloak and then of course there was his beard. Soon they were at platforms 9 and 10.

"What now?" Ginger looked up at Dumbledore.

"Run towards the barrier. Straight at it. You should go right through it to Platform 9 ¾."

Ginger nodded and bit her lip. She faced the barrier and narrowed her eyes at it. Then she gave her cart a hefty shove and began jogging forward. Then she broke into a run. _Don't close your eyes. _She thought as her eyes automatically scrunched up. _Don't do it. _She opened her eyes as wide as she could, which wasn't very wide, and ran forward. Her eyes really did widen as she saw the front of her cart disappear through the barrier; then the rest of her went through after it. She looked behind her just in time to see Dumbledore striding in after her before she felt very dizzy again. She turned her cart to the side and slumped over the handle just before her vision blacked out. She saw a small black-haired girl holding a rose and pulling off it petals. When they were all off the girl dug a hole in the ground and planted the stem. Then it grew back and it was a daffodil.

Ginger opened her eyes. She stood up and looked right into the eyes of Dumbledore. She quickly pushed her cart around and weaved through the crowd toward the train. She found an empty compartment and began shoving her things into it and then she jumped in after them. She took a deep breath in and then let it out. Suddenly the compartment door opened again and a girl poked her head in.

"Can we sit here?" she asked. Ginger nodded and the girl came in followed by 5 other girls. Once they had all squashed themselves in the girl nearest to the door slammed it shut.

"Well," she said. "This is a bit crowded."

"Yeah," another one said.

"Um, what are your guys' names?" Ginger asked uncertainly. She was very uncomfortable, crammed into a corner by the window. None of them had even noticed that the train had started to move. "I'm Ginger Amber Yanikowski,"

"Edana Grace Fisher,"

"Melantha Abby Russel,"

"Jade Sarah Green,"

"Darcy Drusilla Davis,"

"Clarissa Heather Moen,"

"Anastasia Melody Sanders,"

Ginger noticed that they all had different accents.

"Where are you all from? I'm French,"

"Canadian," Edana said.

"Spanish," Melantha said very quickly.

"Russian," Jade rolled the R.

"German," Darcy said in a very strange accent indeed.

"Australian," Clarissa said in an accent that sounded a lot like a British one.

"American," Anastasia said last.

"Hey, we're moving," Edana noticed.

Everybody turned to look out the window. Sure enough, trees and hilltops were blurring past the window. Suddenly the compartment door opened.

"Anything off the trolley dears?"

Ginger turned to see a kind looking witch pushing a cart with tons of strange sweets on them. She stood up and so did Melantha and Jade. The others either looked down or at each other. Ginger bought loads of Pumpkin Pasties and Chocolate Frogs., Melantha bought a heap of Licorice Wands, and Jade bought tons of Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans and Cauldron Cakes. When they all sat back down the others looked hungrily at the sweets for about 2 seconds then they stared out the window. Ginger, who was sitting next to Anastasia, held a Pumpkin Pasty out to her.

"Do you want one?" she asked.

Anastasia looked frightened.

"No!" she said a little louder than she needed to.

"Why not?"

"I just- no,"

Soon their subjects had changed to family.

"I'm a half-blood. My mom's a Muggle; dad was a wizard." Edana said. Nobody but Darcy seemed to notice that she said 'was' when she got to her dad.

"Muggle-born," Melantha said proudly. "Me and my sister, T-tricia, were both witches." Only Edana realized her stutter on Tricia.

"Pureblood," Jade muttered. "I wish I wasn't. If I wasn't then maybe You-Know-Who wouldn't've… and then he wouldn't've made Adam… and then Adam wouldn't've…" Jade began choking up but Darcy began talking before anyone paid attention. Not before Ginger noticed though.

"Pureblood," Darcy growled. "It really sucks. We were all Bloodtraitors; mom was proud of it. Then it happened."

Edana felt like she knew what happened but didn't mention it out loud.

"Half-blood." Clarissa jerked her head so her head would fall onto her back. "Dad's Muggle-born. Though he and mom divorced a few years after I was born. And then mom…" Clarissa bit her lip to make herself shut up. Anastasia patted her shoulder empathetically.

"I'm a pureblood," she said rolling her eyes. "The _best _thing in the world…" her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "I live with the Dodge's. Their son, Jasper, I can live with; their daughter, Hailey, is _pure torture._" Jade looked at Anastasia funny but didn't say anything.

Ginger realized that everybody was looking at her.

"Oh!" she said jumping slightly. "I really don't know. I _think _I'm half-blood but I can't be sure." Darcy opened her mouth but immediately shut it again shaking her head.

"What house do you think you'll be in?" Anastasia said breaking the awkward silence. "I've heard Hufflepuff is supposed to be really stupid but actually from what I've heard it doesn't sound too bad. But I do kind of want Gryffindor."

"Yeah! My mom was in Gryffindor and she says that it runs in the family so I bet I'll be in it too." Edana said happily.

"Gryffindor sounds cool too. I hope I go there." Melantha said grinning at Edana.

"Absolutely _everyone _in my family has been in Slytherin." Jade said in disgust. "I hope I'm in Ravenclaw. Or Gryffindor. I suppose Hufflepuff wouldn't be too bad either but if they put me in Slytherin…"

"I'm going in Slytherin. I just know it. Everybody thinks so." Darcy said with no emotion in her voice. Though her eyes had a slight tint of blue in them.

"Hufflepuff. If they don't put me there my dad'll kill me." Clarissa moaned.

"I really don't know the anything about the houses." Ginger said with her hands up.

"Gryffindors are the brave people, Slytherins are the arrogant jerks," Jade said counting off on her fingers. "Hufflepuffs are trusted and loyal, and Ravenclaws are the smart people."

"Er, I guess Ravenclaw sounds okay," Ginger said slowly. Suddenly they came to a bump on the tracks and they all bounced a few inches off of their seats. They all yelped and then started laughing. They were chatting the rest of the way while eating the snacks that Ginger, Melantha, and Jade had all bought. Then the train jerked to a stop.

"What's going on?" Anastasia said her voice went up a little higher than normal.

"We can't be there yet." Ginger stood up and pulled the compartment door open. She poked her head out into the aisle and saw that lots of other people were doing the same thing. Suddenly the train gave a frightening lurch that threw Ginger back into the compartment.

"I think someone's getting on!" Melantha whispered her voice filled with fear.

Ginger risked a peek out into the hallway again. She saw two people in long cloaks opening the other compartments and peering into them. Ginger backed into her compartment and shut the door. Without knowing what she was doing she sat back down on her seat and made sure that her amulet was well hidden. She scrunched up her face and concentrated very hard. She heard the compartment door open and she opened her eyes. The two people came in and stared hard at all of the girls. When they got to Ginger they stared extra hard at her.

"What's your name?" one of them asked gruffly.

Ginger didn't answer.

"Answer me!"

Ginger lifted her chin. She said the first name that came to her head.

"Hailey Dodge,"

The people stood there for a little longer and then turned and left. After a few minutes the train lurched again and started moving.

"G-ginger!" Jade gasped. "You never told us you were a Metamorphagus!"

Ginger was confused.

"A what?"

"You can change your appearance at will!"

"I can?" Ginger looked at her reflection in the window and gasped. She barely recognized herself. Her hair had turned blond and it was very curly. Her nose was longer and more pointed and her skin was more tanned. As she watched her hair straightened out and darkened. Her skin got paler and her nose went back to normal.

"That is so cool." Clarissa said breathlessly.

"I've heard that they're really rare." Edana said staring in awe. Melantha was chewing her lip.

"Um guys?" she said cautiously.

"Yeah?" they all answered.

"I'm a, uh, Metamorphagus too." She squeezed her eyes shut and changed the color of her hair from her strawberry blond to orange and back again.

"So am I,"

Everybody stared at Anastasia. She changed her hair from white to black and back again.

"How many more of us have random abilities that we don't know about?!" Clarissa yelled.

"I can breathe underwater," Edana said sheepishly.

"I'm a Parslemouth," Jade admitted.

"I'm half-werewolf." Darcy said quietly.

"I can change colors of anything and control the brightness of lights." Clarissa practically whispered.

"I'm also Parsletongue," Anastasia said. She looked like she was trying not to laugh.

"That – is – awesome!" Ginger said breathlessly. "We all have some special thing we can all do or have!"

"What I'm curious about," Jade said looking at Darcy. "Is how you can be _half_-werewolf?"

"My dad's a werewolf but I only got a little of it. I get _very _aggressive on a full moon." Darcy answered casually. They kept talking about weird things until the train stopped again. Anastasia looked out the window.

"Okay, _now _we're here!"

A voice echoed through the train to leave their things on the train and that it would be taken to the school separately. They all stood up and filled out into the corridor. they all hopped out onto a dark platform and as they were wondering where to go they heard a voice.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" the girls saw a lamp form where the voice was coming from and they ran over to it. A huge man was standing there holding it. He smiled down at the girls and then looked up and kept calling out for fist years. When they were all there he instructed them to follow him. They followed him to a black lake. There were several boats there and the man told them to get in.

"No more'n 4 to a boat!" he called out. the girls groaned and then went into separate boats. Ginger was with Jade, Melantha, and Edana and Darcy, Clarissa, and Anastasia went together in a different boat with a round-faced boy.

"FORWARD!" the man shouted and the boats began moving swiftly across the lake. As they rounded a corner there were gasps of delight as a huge castle loomed into view. They entered a sort of underground harbor and Ginger had to duck her head to avoid being hit by some branches. They all clambered out of the boats once on shore.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said the man holding out a toad to the round-faced boy.

"Trevor!" the boy said blissfully holding his hands out. Ginger smirked a little at how high the boy's voice had gone. They followed the man up a passageway until they got to a huge oak door. The man raised a huge fist and knocked 3 times on the door. It was opened immediately by a black-haired witch in green robes.

"The firs' years Professor McGonagall," said the man.

"Thank you Hagrid. I will take them from here."

The entrance hall was huge. They followed Professor McGonagall across the stone floor. There were two great doors on their right and Ginger could hear voices coming from it. Though Professor McGonagall led the further down to a small empty chamber. They all stood in it waiting nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said grandly. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

Ginger thought that this sounded like a speech that had to be spoken every year.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Ginger bit her lip and her heart beat wildly. Jade nudged her and pointed to Ginger's hair. Ginger grabbed a lock and looked at it. She was horrified when she saw that it was slowly curling. She scrunched her eyes shut and tried as hard as she could to straighten her hair again. She opened her eyes and looked sideways at her hair again. It was back to normal. She didn't notice that Professor McGonagall had left. Everyone was whispering.

"What are we going to do?"

"We're supposed to do it in front of the entire school?"

"If we have to perform magic I'm dead."

Ginger was thinking these exact same things. She turned around to face Jade but instead she saw ghosts floating through the back wall. Her jaw dropped and other people screamed. The ghosts appeared to have not noticed the first years and seemed to be arguing.

"Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance -"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?"

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them.

"About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

Just then Professor McGonagall returned.

"Move along now," she said in a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start. Now form a line, and follow me."

Taking huge shaky breaths, Ginger stepped into line behind Jade and a red-haired boy that looked like one of the ones from the cauldron shop got behind her. They went into the Great Hall and Ginger's jaw dropped to the floor. The Hall was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. The ceiling was absolutely magnificent. It was velvety black and was dotted with stars.

Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. Then she placed a pointed wizard's hat on top of it. It was extremely frayed and dirty. Ginger smiled at the thought of Mrs. Setchell's reaction if she saw the hat. Suddenly the hat twitched. Then a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth – and the hat began to sing.

_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find _

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat _

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you _

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kin;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

"That's it?" Jade laughed. "We just get to wear a hat?"

"I wish we didn't have to do it in front of the entire school." Harry said.

"Yeah," Ginger agreed.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on eh stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes and sat down. A moment's pause –

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Brown, Lavender!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The table on the far left exploded with cheers.

"Bulstrode, Millicent!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

The table second from the right clapped and cheered, but they all seemed to look downcast and slightly evil.

"Davis, Darcy!"

Darcy walked stiff-legged to the stool and sat down. The hat was on her head for only a few seconds before it came to a conclusion.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Darcy did not look happy, but then again, she never really showed any emotion.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Fisher, Edana!"

Edana looked as if she might faint.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Edana's face flushed with relief as she practically skipped over to the Gryffindor table.

"Granger, Hermione!"

A bushy-haired girl almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Green, Jade!"

Ginger gave her a reassuring smile as Jade went up there, white-faced.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Jade ran over to the Ravenclaw table grinning broadly.

"Longbottom, Neville!"

Ginger tried not to laugh at the boy's name.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Then the round-faced boy ran off still wearing the hat and had to go back to it to the next person.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

Ginger really did laugh this time. Malfoy must've heard because he glared hard in her direction as he swaggered forward. The hat barely touched his head when it screamed "SLYTHERIN!"

"Moen, Clarissa!"

Clarissa's eyes were half-shut as she slowly scuffled up to the stool. The hat took a very long time with her.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Clarissa looked a little disappointed but grinned all the same.

There were a few other people.

"Moon" …, "Nott" …, "Parkinson" …, then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" …, then "Perks, Sally-Anne" …, and then it happened –

"Potter, Amy!"

There was a deathly still silence.

Ginger felt as if the necklace was burning a hole through her shirt. She strode to the stool and sat down. As soon as the hat touched her head Ginger felt very dizzy. The hat slipped over her eyes. Suddenly pictures filled up her mind like it had done at the barrier of Platform 9 ¾. There was a little girl playing with an even younger boy. Their parents were sitting nearby laughing happily.

"Oh, thinking about a memory are you?"

_What? Oh, crap I'm hearing things now. _

"No, you're not. I'm the Sorting Hat!"

_Okaaaaaay. But it wasn't really a memory. It was more of a…_

"Flashback?"

_Er, yeah, whatever you want to call it._

"Well we need to get to Sorting… Let's see, lots of bravery… You are very cunning and smart… Hmmm, how about SLY-!"

_NO!_

"No? Really? I thought you might like Slytherin,"

_No, no. I _really _don't want Slytherin!_

"Hmm, I see. Well you would be happier here… and it would suit you better… Yes I think it should be RAVENCLAW!"

_Oh, thank goodness. _


	4. Ravenclaw

_Author's note: I'm using other languages in this chapter. They're Russian and French. Now the language is stuck on French and I don't know how to change it back to English. So if I misspell a word I apologize._ _I've gone to the options and changed everything to English but it's still on French so I am sorry. =)_

The Ravenclaw table clapped and cheered as Ginger hopped down from the stool. Jade beckoned her over and Ginger ran gratefully to her. Jade scooted aside a little to make room for Ginger and Ginger slid in next to her.

"Potter, Harry!"

Ginger quickly jerked her head toward the front at the name 'Potter'.

A boy with messy black hair, much like her own, stepped forward and whispers broke out all over the hall.

"_Potter, _did she say?"

"_The _Harry Potter?'

Ginger turned to Jade who was gaping up at the boy in awe. Then a look of confusion crossed her face.

"Wait, Professor McGonagall said that _your _last name is Potter. And that your first name is Amy! What's going on?"

Ginger just shrugged and then something clicked in her head as the Sorting Hat was placed on Harry's head. Harry. _Harry. _The boy from the memory when Ginger first got the Amulet! Ginger smacked her palm to her forehead and groaned. Why hadn't she realized that before? Harry must've been related to her or something!

"GRYFFINDOR!" she heard the Hat shout. She inwardly groaned again. She was half-hoping that he would get put in Ravenclaw too. Harry was getting the loudest cheer yet. The Gryffindor table was absolutely celebrating. Harry must be famous but Ginger wouldn't know about that.

"Russel, Melantha!"

Melantha dragged her feet as she walked toward the stool. Ginger crossed her fingers and-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Out of the corner of her eye Ginger saw Jade's face fall.

"Sanders, Anastasia!"

She stood paranoid for about three seconds before she rushed up to the stool and sat down.

"Come on," Ginger muttered under her breath. "Be a Ravenclaw,"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat shouted after at least three minutes.

"No!" Jade sighed.

"Thomas, Dean!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Turpin, Lisa!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Ginger clapped along with the rest of the Ravenclaws and moved over to make room for Lisa. Lisa sat next to her and gave her a small smile before looking back up at the stool.

"Weasley, Ronald!"

Ginger sniggered slightly.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Zabini, Blaise!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Ginger sighed annoyed that none of her other friends had made it into Ravenclaw.

A hush suddenly fell over the crowd as a man with a very long silvery beard stood up.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Ginger leaned towards Jade.

"Um, is oddment even a word?" she asked and Jade nodded.

"Yep. It means a remnant or part of something, typically left over from a larger piece or set," she said.

"Well thanks for that human dictionary," Ginger smirked. Jade punched her arm lightly. All the same though, it hurt.

"Ow! Jade that actually hurt!"

"извините,"

"Um, what?"

"Sorry,"

"What language was that?"

"Russian,"

"You're Russian?"

"Yup,"

"Cool I'm French!"

Jade eyed her suspiciously.

"Prove it,"

"Okay. Je vous ai dit que je suis français. »

Jade grinned.

'Cool.' She said. 'What did that mean?'

'I told you I'm French.' Ginger said smiling.

They were so busy talking that they didn't even realize that the plates in front of them were suddenly piled with food.

'Woah! Great!' Jade said staring hungrily at all of the food. Ginger began stuffing everything she could into her mouth. Jade laughed at her and Ginger thought that she must look really ridiculous, but Jade didn't look any better. Her cheeks were bulging and a little dribble of spit was sliding out of the corner of her mouth. Ginger choked down the food in her mouth and so did Jade but in the process accidently spit a grape across the table and it hit Terry Boot. He glared at Jade but she just put a confused look on her face and looked around. Ginger was laughing so hard that she couldn't breathe. After a while all of the food disappeared and was replaced with tons of desserts. Ginger grabbed three ice-cream blocks and dropped them all onto her plate. Jade was trying to eat her Jello with a fork.

'винт, который вы глупы желе!' she shouted in anger.

"What?" Ginger laughed.

"Screw you stupid jello!" and Jade bent her head down and began eating it without any utensils.

This made Ginger laugh even harder. A few people were staring at them but they didn't care. Soon the rest of the food disappeared too and Ginger and Jade finally calmed down. The man with the beard got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem – just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Ginger and Jade both snickered, but not many other people did.

"Is he being serious?" Ginger said in an undertone to Lisa who did not laugh. Lisa just shrugged but was shaking quite badly.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Jade groaned.

"My brother told me about the school song," she murmured to Ginger. "He said it was one of the worst things about Hogwarts."

Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

And the school bellowed:

_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
Teach us something, please,  
Whether we be old and bald  
Or young with scabby knees,  
Our heads could do with filling  
With some interesting stuff,  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
Bring back what we've forgot,  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
And learn until our brains all rot._

Ginger sang along to the Luxembourg national anthem and was one of the last ones singing because it was so slow. She could hear Jade behind her singing it to the Russian national anthem. Two red-headed boys at the Gryffindor table finished last. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

"Ravenclaw first years! Ravenclaw first years, follow me!" shouted a tall boy over the heads of the other Ravenclaws as everybody stood up. Ginger latched herself to Jade and they made their way over to the boy. There were only about 7 or 8 Ravenclaw first years and the boy seemed delighted by that.

"Oh, good not that many. Last year we had about 20. It was torcher. Anyway, I am the Ravenclaw Prefect Robert Hilliard and if you would all follow me." He turned around and marched from the hall. They were walking for a short while before they reached a staircase that spiraled upwards very tightly. Robert had been motioning to things as they passed them and was now doing the staircase.

"… and this is the Spiral Staircase that leads up Ravenclaw Tower. Our common room door is at the top. It doesn't need to be all that secure like the other houses because, well, you'll see when we get there it's a tad bit difficult to explain."

They were climbing so many stairs and Ginger was getting dizzier and dizzier. Finally, when she thought she was going to pass out from dizziness, the stairs ended.

"Alright!" Robert said clapping his hands. He seemed to be used to the stairs. "So this is the door to our common room." He motioned to the huge doors behind him. "All you have to do is knock this Eagle Knocker here and it will ask you a question and you have to answer it. Now as a test, I would like a volunteer to knock and answer the question for me." He looked eagerly around at them but nobody moved. "Alright, uh, you!" he pointed at Ginger. She felt the color drain from her face. Robert grabbed her arm and pulled her in front of the door.

"Go on," he said. "Knock it!"

Ginger raised a trembling hand and grasped the knocker. She knocked it. As soon as she let go of it _spoke. _

"Where do Vanished objects go?" it asked her.

Ginger's jaw dropped.

"Um…" Vanished objects. She remembered reading that in one of the textbooks.

"Into… Non-Being?" she stuttered hoping beyond hope that she was right. At first nothing happened. Then the doors swung open revealing a wide open room. Arched windows were fit into the wall and almost everything in there was either blue or bronze. Robert cuffed Ginger's shoulder.

"Nice job kid. You read through the textbooks I 'spect?"

Ginger nodded shakily and Robert laughed.

"Don't we all?" he chuckled. "All right everyone in!"

Inside the common room they got a better view of everything inside of it. There were stairs leading up to a door and another door right below it. There was a fireplace that was lit but the flames were blue. Comfy looking chairs were positioned in front of it and a few tables were dotted here and there.

"Alright, boys' dormitories are down here and girls' dorms are up there," he pointed to the two doors. Jade, Ginger, Mandy, and Lisa went up to their dorms while Terry and a few other boys went to the lower ones. The girls entered through the door and saw 7 other ones. They went through the one labeled _First Years. _Four-poster beds were covered in sky blue silk eiderdowns and there were large windows that overlooked a field with large hoops in it. Ginger saw her trunk lying in front of the bed closest to the window. She ran over to it and pulled it open. She saw, with a rush of joy, that Jade's bed was next to her's. The girls put on their pajamas and snuggled under the covers. Ginger put her amulet on the nightstand beside her. It was so warm… and you could hear the wind whistling outside like a song… it was so soothing… Ginger felt her eyelids fall and she drifted off into a relaxing sleep. She didn't realize that the amulet had found a way to drape itself back on her.


	5. Charms and Attacks

"We have Charms with Hufflepuffs first. Good! We can see Clarissa and Anastasia then!" Jade looked up from the schedule her eyes gleaming. "This is so cool don't you think?" she said breathlessly. "I mean, we get to do magic! _Magic! _Устрашающий!Awesome!" Jade tended to have outbursts of Russian when she was feeling a strong emotion. She and Ginger were running down the stairs. Jade focused back on the schedule again. "And then we get Transfiguration with the Gryffindors. Yes! Then we can see Edana and Melantha! Then Potions, oh, but we're not with anybody though. Darn, I thought maybe we would get to see Darcy too!"

"We do on Wednesday." Ginger pointed to the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. They were with Slytherin. Jade's face lit up again.

"Alright! Yes, we can see all of our friends eventually!" she said ecstatic.

"Yes, but we'll still see them at breakfast and lunch and dinner." Ginger pointed out.

"Yes, but it's not the _same!" _Jade said exasperated. "In lessons we can actually interact and stuff. But at meals, we'll just see each other."

Ginger sighed. She knew she would never win this battle.

They got into the Great Hall and ate quickly so they could get to Charms early. Their teacher was Professor Flitwick and he was also the Head of Ravenclaw house. Plus it was just in their nature to be early for lessons. After a few minutes they walked briskly from the hall and searched for the Charms classroom. They found much quicker than any of the other house students and they were the first ones there. As they walked in Professor Flitwick looked up.

"I don't recognize either of you," he said squeakily. "Are you first years?"

Ginger and Jade nodded.

"Wonderful! What house are you in?"

"Ravenclaw," they both said simultaneously. Professor Flitwick's face lit up.

"Really? Oh, that's wonderful! I'm Head of Ravenclaw you know,"

Jade and Ginger looked at each other. That meant that they would have to make a good impression on him.

"Oh, vraiment? frais," Ginger said nervously. She clapped a hand over her mouth. _Darn it! _She thought. _There goes a first impression. _Professor Flitwick was looking at her curiously.

"Was that French?" he asked.

Ginger nodded.

"You know French? That's wonderful! You sound like you _are _French!"

"Yeah, I actually _am _French. I'm from Luxembourg."

Professor Flitwick's mouth dropped open.

"Amazing," he spluttered.

Ginger grinned weakly.

"Come on, Jade let's take our seats," she mumbled quietly to Jade so Professor Flitwick wouldn't hear. They shuffled to the middle of the class and sat down toward the edge of the row. They waited for a few minutes before more people started to file in. When Clarissa and Anastasia came in Jade and Ginger waved them over, and they came hurrying and sat on either side of them.

"Open your books," Professor Flitwick said when everyone was settled. "And we shall begin,"

They spent most of the class learning about the charm that made flowers appear out of the end of their wands. Ginger got it on her third try (Daffodils burst from the end of her wand) but Jade was struggling.

"_Orchideous!" _she shouted waving her wand vigorously. Nothing happened. "_Orchideous! Orchideous, orchideous, орхидейный!" _she screamed in Russian.

BANG.

Jade was shot backwards off her feet and landed on the floor. Flowers of all kinds were shooting in every direction out of her wand. Clarissa shrieked and threw her arms over her head as thorny roses flew at her face. Anastasia was getting showered with pansies and Ginger was drowning in rhododendrons. It was chaotic. Some people were running around and trying to dodge the flowers while others were diving under their desks and acting as if there were an earthquake. After a minute the flowers stopped raining down and people started to calm down a little bit. Jade was buried in a pile of flowers. She sat up so suddenly that Ginger was hit with a wave of various blossoms. She spat out a few forget-me-nots and started laughing. A few people stared at her like she was insane but then Jade was laughing too. Then Anastasia began snickering, Clarissa was panting from laughter and soon the whole room was roaring with laughter. Even Professor Flitwick was chuckling. Then the bell rang.

"Alright, alright, settle down it's time to go." Professor Flitwick said wiping his eyes. He flicked his wand and the remnants of the flowers disappeared. Grinning broadly the class left.

"Transfiguration next right?" Ginger said turning to Jade.

"With the Gryffindors I believe," she answered digging around in her bag. "Oh, no," she moaned.

"What?"

"I think I left my quill back in Professor Flitwick's class. I need to get it, will you wait for me?"

"Of course,"

"Thanks. I'll be right back," and with that Jade ran off.

Ginger waited patiently drumming her fingers against her leg. The corridor she was standing in was empty now. Suddenly the amulet burned against her chest.

"Ow!" Ginger exclaimed pulling it away. When she was looking down she suddenly realized that her shoe was untied. She bent down and tied it. She was about to straighten up again when she a voice.

"_Stupefy!"_

The spell missed Ginger by inches. She yanked her wand out of her bag and looked around to see who had shot the spell at her but she couldn't see anybody. Suddenly, two cloaked figures jumped out from behind a suit of armor and began shooting spells at her. Ginger dodged them and in a split second she was sprinting away the people chasing after her. Ginger just turned a corner when she felt something white-hot graze her cheek. She gave a cry of pain and clamped her hand over the wound. When she pulled her hand away she saw blood on it. She tore a piece of fabric from her robes with her wand and pressed it to the cut. She turned left abruptly and hid behind a suit of armor. She heard her pursuers stop, breathing hard. Ginger breathed as quietly as possible.

"Where'd she go?" she heard on say.

"Dunno. She must've gone down this corridor over here. Come on."

Ginger heard their footsteps pounding off. When she couldn't hear anything she peaked out from behind the armor. She didn't see anybody. Then she heard a voice off in the distance.

"Ginger? Ginger, where are you? I thought I told you to stay where you were!" it was Jade. Ginger stepped out from behind the suit of armor. She ran toward the sound of Jade's voice. Jade had her back to her and was searching around for her.

"Jade!" Ginger called running over to her.

Jade swiveled around.

"Where have you been?" she said. "I've been look-,"

"No time to explain," Ginger cut her off. "Listen, we need to go," she stopped and lowered her voice to almost a whisper. "Back to the Common room for a while. I'll explain to you what happened when we get there."

Jade opened her mouth to argue but Ginger was already dragging her away. She took the steps two at a time when they got to the spiral staircase and this time the dizziness didn't bother her. She answered the question briskly and charged in the second the door was open wide enough. They ran into their dorm and seeing that nobody was in there but them Ginger shut the door.

"Can I speak now?" Jade asked irritably.

"Yes," Ginger said.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?! THIS HAD BETTER BE IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE'RE MISSING TRANSFIGURATION!" Jade shouted.

Ginger flinched.

"Look I'm sorry but you've got to hear this…"

And she was explaining exactly what happened with the cloaked people. When she was finished Jade gaped at her.

"Whoa," she breathed. "Ah, man sorry for exploding on you like that and-," she suddenly gasped in horror staring at Ginger's cheek. Ginger realized that she had taken the cloth away from her face.

"Oh," she said quickly. "It's not that bad, it doesn't even hurt really," she winced as the fabric touched her. Jade quickly dug a mirror out of her bag and held it up to Ginger so she could look at her wound. Ginger took the cloth away again and put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from crying out. The cut had swelled and a sort of yellow pus was coming from it and blood was leaking out of it. Without a word Jade steered Ginger out of the room and found Robert Hilliard sitting in a chair reading a book. He looked up and smiled at them.

"Hello, what can I do for-," he noticed Ginger and his face went white. "Hospital Wing," he whispered.

Ginger was lying in the Hospital Wing with Madam Pomfrey bustling around. She had let Jade stay but only after serious arguing.

"Drink this," Madam Pomfrey said hurriedly holding out a glass to Ginger. Ginger took it and Madam Pomfrey cascaded her with questions. "What exactly happened?"

"I was running and a spell grazed past my cheek," Ginger said bluntly.

"Was it hot?"

"Felt like fire,"

"Did it hurt?"

_Whadya think? _Ginger thought.

"A lot," she said instead.

"What was the incantation?"

"I didn't hear it."

"Did your vision go funny at all when you were hit? Any dizziness?"

"No. I just felt like a hole had burned through my face."

"Did you put anything on it?"

"Well I tore off a bit of my cloak and held it up to it just to keep it from bleeding to badly."

"Did you put your hand on it at all?"

"Once or twice,"

"You didn't use any magic on it at all?"

"No! Why would I do that?"

"Drink that!"

Ginger gulped a small mouthful and felt a tingling in her cheek. Then it stopped.

"All of it!"

Ginger drained the rest of the bottle. She felt more tingling in her cheek.

"Thank you. Now I'll take that and you eat this," Madam Pomfrey swapped the cup for a piece of chocolate. As Madam Pomfrey scuffled away Ginger bit into the chocolate. A wave of warmth spread through her whole body. She shivered.

"Are we missing Potions yet?" she asked Jade. Jade checked her schedule then her watch.

"In about two and a half minutes we will be," she answered looking up. "You feeling any better?"

Ginger nodded and Madam Pomfrey came back in.

"I'd like you to tell me _exactly _what happened. Not just when you were hit but before and after that," she said briskly.

"Okay. Me and Jade were going to Transfiguration when she realized that she forgot her quill. She went back to get it and while she was gone two people jumped from behind a suit of armor and attacked me."

"Then?" Madam Pomfrey prompted.

"I ran away. One of them hit me," Ginger gestured to her cheek. "I hid behind a different suit of armor and they ran down a different corridor thinking I went that way. I found Jade and me and her went back to the Common Room. I told her what happened and she showed Robert my cheek and they took me here,"

"Where are the people that chased you?"

"I don't know! I just saw them run off and I left!"

"What did they look like?"

"They looked like adults and they were wearing long black cloaks. I couldn't see their faces because they kept their hoods up!"

"Oh. Well I need to clean that cut of your before I heal it. This might sting a little…"

'A little' was an underestimation. Madam Pomfrey poured some purple liquid on it that stung a _lot. _After she had rubbed the last of it off Madam Pomfrey took out her wand and touched it to her cheek. The cut healed up instantly.

"Madam Pomfrey can we go? We're gonna be late for Po-," Jade started looking at her watch.

"No!" Madam Pomfrey cut in sharply. "This girl needs rest!"

"No, I feel fine Madam Pomfrey really. Besides I really don't want to miss Potions," Ginger tried.

"Absolutely not!"

"Oh, come on…"

"ALRIGHT! Fine you can go!"

"Thank you!" Ginger said jumping up from the bed, grabbing her bag, and following Jade from the room.

* * *

Okay I'm going to give you translations of the other things said in here that my characters didn't explain.

Устрашающий= awesome

vraiment= really

frais= cool


	6. Je m'excuse pour la gêne occasionnée

Translation: I apologize for the inconvenience.

I am so sorry about this! I've tried to find a time to work on my story but I'm just so so busy! I have not neglected my story since it is my only one. I'm so sorry that I have not written for a while and I'm sorry to say that I will not be able to write at all for about a week or so. I'm going camping! Woo-hoo! But still I am sorry and will get back to my writing soon. I hope you've enjoyed the story!

-HarrietPalmer13


	7. Potions and Burns and Necklaces

**Disclaimer: Blah blah I don't own HP just my characters and my plot line and whatever.**

Ginger and Jade pounded down the corridors taking corners as sharp as they could.

"Are we late yet?" Ginger panted.

"About half a minute," Jade breathed barely glancing at her watch. They reached the dungeons fifteen seconds later. They didn't crash down the door though. Instead they walked in calmly trying to mask their hard breathing. A teacher with black, greasy hair was standing up at the front. When they came in he glared at them.

"You're late," he said coldly. This made Jade glance at her watch again.

"Actually, if it was ten seconds from now then we would be," she said softly.

"Silence!" the man barked making the girls jump a little. "Ten points from Ravenclaw for talking back to me," Jade opened her mouth to argue but Ginger elbowed her sharply in the ribs.

"Come on let's just sit down," she murmured. They made their way to the back of the classroom and sat down.

"Now, Potions is a fine but difficult subject," the man started. "I am Professor Snape and I will be teaching you the art of potion-making.

"There will be no foolish wand-waving here nor will you utter a single incantation. I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death.

"We will be starting with a few simple questions, you!" Snape's cold eyes locked with Ginger's. "What is your name?"

"Ginger Yanikowski," Ginger answered.

"What is the purpose of Boomslang Skin?"

Ginger answered almost immediately.

"The boomslang's skin is used in certain potions, most notably Polyjuice Potion."

"Where would I look to find Dittany and what does it do?"

"Dittany is a magical plant used in Potion-making, and is a powerful healing herb and restorative. Its use makes fresh skin grow over a wound, and after application, the wound seems several days old. In addition to its essence being applied topically, the raw plant can be consumed to heal shallow wounds. Shredded Dittany is an ingredient in the creation of the Wiggenweld Potion. Also known as Burning Bush, it sometimes releases flammable vapors."

"Another Granger," Snape muttered under his breath. He glared at Jade. "Your name?" he snapped.

"Jade Green," Jade answered avoiding Snape's gaze.

"Where would I look to find Gillyweed and what does it do?"

"Um, it's found native in the Mediterranean Sea. When consumed the person will grow gills and webbed hands and feet, allowing them to swim faster and to breathe underwater. The effects normally last about an hour or so."

Snape scowled.

"We will be brewing a simple Swelling Solution. Does anyone know what it does?" he said. Almost everybody raised their hand. Snape looked shocked for a second but he quickly recovered from it. He pointed to a girl with blonde hair in a long braid going down her back. "You," he said.

The girl put her hand down.

"It causes enlargement on contact." The girl said.

"Correct. The instructions are written up here. Follow them and you will succeed."

Ginger squinted up at the directions. Now she wished that they hadn't sat so far back. She could still read them though. They read:

Add two scoops of dried nettles to the mortar

Add three puffer-fish eyes to the mortar

Crush into a medium-fine powder

Add two measures of the crushed mix to your cauldron

Heat on a medium temperature for twenty seconds

Wave your wand

Leave to brew and return in 60 minutes

Add one bat spleen to the cauldron

Stir four times, anti-clockwise

Heat to low for thirty seconds

Wave your wand to complete the potion

She nudged Jade and spoke in an undertone.

"I thought he said there would be no foolish wand-waving," she snickered pointing to the sixth and last instruction. Jade stifled a laugh and when Snape looked their way they both ducked beneath their desks to grab the ingredients.

"Add two scoops of dried nettles to the mortar…" Ginger murmured scooping them into it.

"Add three puffer-fish eyes to the mortar…" Jade said dropping them into hers.

"Crush into a medium-fine powder…"

"Ginger that's too fine!" Jade said quickly.

Ginger quickly stopped pounding so hard and looked at her mortar. The contents were like dust.

"Oops," she said.

"Anyway, add two measures of the crushed mix to your cauldron…" Jade said.

"Heat on a medium temperature for twenty seconds…"

"Wave your wand,"

Ginger dug through her bag and pulled out her wand. She swished it through the air pointing it at the cauldron.

"There we go," she said dropping her wand and brushing her hands together.

"Now we wait," Jade sighed.

"For sixty minutes."

…

"One bat spleen…"

"Stir four times, anti-clockwise…"

"Heat to low for thirty seconds…"

"одна ... два ... три ... четыре ... пять ...,"

"six… sept… huit… neuf… dix…,"

"Одиннадцать ... двенадцать ... тринадцать ... четырнадцать ... Пятнадцать ...,"

"seize… dix-sept ans… dix-huit… dix-neuf… vingt…,"

"двадцать один ... двадцать два ... двадцать три ... двадцать четыре ... двадцать пять ...,"

"vingt-six… vingt-sept… vingt-huit… vingt neuf…,"

"тридцать!"

"trente ans!"

Jade and Ginger laughed. They had been counting to thirty in French and Russian.

"Okay, wave your wand, wave your wand!" Jade said shaking with laughter.

Ginger picked up her wand and pointed it at her cauldron again. She waved it.

"Alright," she breathed setting it down. "Done,"

"You are?" said a voice from behind them. Ginger spun around to see Snape. He came around to the front of their table. He stared hard at Ginger's potion. After a while he seemed to be finished.

"Too runny," he announced and moved over to inspect Jade's. He scowled. "Perfect," he muttered angrily. He moved away. Jade was struggling to keep a straight face. Suddenly Snape was back. He was staring at Ginger. Well, not _directly _at her; he was staring at her chest. At the amulet. Ginger felt it burning on her chest. She looked down and saw that it was colorless again. Then as she watched black fog began swirling around in it until it was filled with black. Snape's eyes widened as he stared at it. He looked at Ginger. Then the bell rang. Ginger quickly waved her wand and the contents in her cauldron disappeared. She quickly stuffed everything into her bag, but in her haste to leave she accidently knocked her jar of pufferfish-eyes off her desk. The lid popped off and the eyes rolled everywhere. The girl from the front with the braid jumped and shrieked as four eyes rolled to a stop at her feet.

"I'm sorry!" Ginger gasped diving to pick them up. The girl began breathing fast and walked away, her eyes wide. Ginger scrambled around scooping the eyes back into the jar. When she recovered all of the eyes she looked around for the lid.

"Looking for this?" someone said. Ginger looked up. Snape was standing over her holding the jar lid.

"Oh, thank you," Ginger said stretching out her hand for it. Snape snatched it out of her reach and his eyes narrowed.

"Not until you tell me where you got that necklace!"

Ginger frowned and slowly stood up.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because of what it did when I looked at it!" Snape hissed.

"What turn black? It changes color all the time! That's normal!" Ginger protested.

"Yes, but are you in a different mood when its color changes?"

"Well, not all the time, but-," Ginger stopped. Snape was right. "I, don't really know,"

"You don't really know? But you sort of know?"

"Well, um…"

"Tell me!"

"Ugh! Fine! There was an owl at my window with a piece of paper in its mouth and… and it… um…"

"Yes, yes?!"

"It… dropped it… and… er… sort of burst into flames… uh…"

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, there is something else but I can't remember. I know it was important though…"

"You… can't remember?"

"No. Come to think of it there are several things I can't remember since I got this thing," Ginger suddenly realized something. Was the necklace making her forget things? Important things? Suddenly, Ginger didn't want this necklace anymore. She didn't want to see it ever again! She reached up and tried to take it off but she yelped in pain and yanked her hands away. Tears threatened to leak out of her eyes as she looked at her hands. They were blistered and raw. The necklace had burned her!

"Ow…" she whined.

"Go to the hospital wing," Snape ordered. Ginger didn't complain. She left as fast as she could without running and once she was sure Snape wasn't following her she sprinted as fast as she could. She wanted to get away. Away from that teacher – and away from something she wouldn't remember for a long time.


End file.
